Mormonism

Mormonism is a branch of Christianity founded by Joseph Smith in the 1820s. Originally considered to be a part of Protestantism, it became its own distinct branch of the religion that followed the Book of Mormon as its way of life. It is a minor religion in the United States' west, especially Colorado. It is known for its allowance of polygamy and its forbidding of alcohol.

History
Mormonism was formed during the Second Great Awakening in the 1820s, and it was created by Joseph Smith after he had visions of God and Jesus. An angel named Moroni directed him to a buried book of golden plates, the Book of Mormon, that described an ancient American civilization. In 1831, his followers moved west and headed to Missouri, where they first had a base. However, they fought Protestant Missourians in the 1838 Mormon War, leaving 22 dead; the group moved to Illinois, where Smith was murdered in 1844 in prison by people opposing his polygamy.

After Smith's death, Brigham Young led the Mormons farther west, and they settled in Utah, Colorado, and other United States territories in the region. He led the settlers to Utah and became Governor of the Utah Territory, but they sought to create the independent state of Deseret. The US Army was dispatched to quell the Mormons, leading to the Utah War and 164 deaths from 1857 to 1858. Young was replaced as governor, but the Mormons were given citizenship of the USA. This was the last of the Mormon Wars, and the Mormons became a religious minority in the Rockies region.

Today, there are 15,000,000 members of the Church of Latter-day Saints, a larger religion than Judaism by 1,000,000 according to some. It is mostly practiced in America, although Mormon missionaries succeeded in spreading the beliefs to other countries across the world, from Iceland to Japan.